The invention pertains to disinfection of the mold spores in a grow facility.
Mold can be found everywhere. They can grow on almost any surface where moisture is present. Molds reproduce by spores, which are carried by air currents. When spores land on a moist surface, that is suitable to sustain life, mold begins to grow. Indoor and outdoor gardens or grow spaces are normally prone to be affected by both mold and mildew. They are probably more pronounced in indoor grow spaces.
Mold is a strong threat to cannabis, and an outbreak can be detrimental to an entire crop. Mold can have an adverse impact on the growing plants, if not controlled. The mold spores can accumulate on floors, spread via air currents, brought indoors via clothes and shoes. Additionally, mold can develop on marijuana plants, buds or seeds due to moisture and humidity. This can be because of poor ventilation in a closed in facility, or if the pot is packaged in air-tight containers with significant moisture in the buds. Since commercial grow houses tend to be large operations, the presence of more plants allows more chance of mold growing and spreading. The same ingredients which help with high yields also help create a perfect environment for the mold spores to thrive on. Molds can form at all stages of the plant growth and harvest cycle:                Growth Stage: A common location for mold to occur is within the grow room. If mold begins to spread from plant to plant, many, if not the entire crop, can be destroyed. A complete kill of microbial contaminants is necessary to prevent mold occurrence and must be achieved prior to any plants entering the space. A complete sanitization will ensure there are no lingering spores in the environment that could spread and wreak havoc once growing begins. Traditional methods of cleaning may not account for airborne mold spores, spores hidden in cracks or tight spaces, and human limitations.        Drying Stage: A large percentage of mold begins after harvest. During the drying process, mold will form if the moisture level is too high. If air quality is left unmonitored, mold spores will grow. As long as buds have at some water or moisture content, it risks the development of mold. Buds can develop pockets of humid air, which are strong risk sites. If buds are too dry, growers sometimes place fruit peels amongst them to add moisture and flavor. However, this can introduce mold into the environment if the fruit is contaminated and spread spores to the cannabis buds.        Curing Stage: Once cannabis is at the correct state, the plant can be put into jars or airtight totes to begin the curing phase. Moisture from the stems and buds will seep into the air within the enclosed space and be exposed to the rest of the buds. This moisture removes impurities from the buds. This moisture also places buds at risk for mold growth. A grassy smell may indicate it has not been cured long enough and residual moisture may lead to mold.        
The design of indoor grow rooms for medical marijuana can be critical to the control of airborne fungal spores and the microbes residing on various surfaces. It is common knowledge that most existing grow houses are poorly suited to prevent the ingress of fungal spores. The prevailing solutions include either a new design or retrofitting a series of air filters, fans, and UV systems to render the grow spaces relatively free of spores and other microbial contaminants.
Normal disinfection or decontamination procedures such as the ones used in hospital environments or cleanrooms are currently adapted for plant grow rooms. Some of the known practices are listed below:
a. Traditional fungicides that may leave hazardous residues.
b. Air particulate filtration systems that maintains the indoor growing area free of airborne fungal spores
c. Chlorine dioxide gas decontamination
d. Manual Spray, Wipe and Soaking with liquid disinfection solutions.
e. Use of UV-C disinfection lamps
Each of the above methods has its own significant limitation, particularly with regards to the microbial “kill” effectiveness.
Privatized and legally commercial medical marijuana grow operations are relatively safer since these facilities are subjected to annual inspections and reviews. Nonetheless, any mold growth could still present a health hazard. Although, State licensing standards require marijuana growers and the manufacturers of marijuana infused product to “take reasonable measures and precautions” to store the drug in a way that prevents the rapid growth of microorganisms, but this is very subjective. The State laws are still trying to catch up with the growth of operations in general. Most, if not all the universal building code manuals make no mention of indoor marijuana grow operations at this stage.